Oh my!! I really don’t know how this author does it but once again Tana French has come up with yet another book with an authentic feel, that bears no resemblance to those that came before it. The Dublin Murder Squad, of which this is the sixth, is not a traditional series rather one or more characters from a previous book appears in a later one, and the crimes they tackle are as varied as the characters that populate the pages.
In The Trespasser Antoinette Conway, one of the detectives who appeared in the previous novel, The Secret Place, is the lead detective on a slam-dunk domestic killing of a young woman. Antoinette’s partner on the force is another detective we met in the previous book, Steve Moran, who has now found his way onto the Murder Squad. The partnership isn’t the easiest, Antoinette still being brusque and feisty and by now thoroughly fed-up with not being accepted by the rest of the team. Both are pleased to have a case of their own to run and will even put up with the arrogant Detective Bresslin overseeing their work to get away from the relentless night-shift and the unrelenting stupid crimes that occur on it.
Having never been in a Murder Squad any more than I’ve attended a girl’s boarding school, the author has created what feels like an authentic recreation of the world that Conway and Moran inhabit. The atmosphere, the décor and the smells are all served up along with the language, by which I refer to the dialogue and the jargon that surely really exist? The book is set fairly and squarely in Dublin and as in the previous novels modern Ireland is gently explored without overpowering the main plot.
The centre of the plot is all about the murder of Aislinn Murray a young woman, identikit to the numerous other women with straight blonde hair and a pout to match, who has had her head bashed in. There is no forced entry to the house and the table is set for two so all the junior detectives need to do is find the dinner date – it’s so easy that Antoinette is frustrated, she really wants a big case, one where she can do some real detective work. When they meet Aislinn’s friend Lucy the pair get a hint that there could be more to the tale, but with Bresslin looking for a quick win with such an obvious suspect, is Antoinette’s reputation for being feisty going to work irreparably against her?
This is a long book, one packed full of details which you really don’t want to miss. As good as the plot is, and it’s fantastic, the most spellbinding part is the unveiling of the characters. The victim is not quite the thick, look-obsessed and no taste girl that the detectives had her pegged at. Nor is the boyfriend quite as boring as he first seemed and with Antoinette herself the biggest mystery of the entire plot there is plenty to absorb and wonder at as the layers of their characters are peeled back to show the reality behind the façade. But be warned this isn’t a straightforward ride with Tana French not adverse to some manipulation of her reader’s feelings; I found my sympathy and concern for a number of characters waxed and waned as different interpretations to the facts seemed certain, and then slid away to the ‘I’m just not sure pile’ all of which meant that I suspected everyone and trusted no-one until pretty much the very last page.
I really can’t express quite how amazing this series is; I’ve loved all the books and each time a new one comes out it becomes my latest ‘favourite’ I’m not going there this time, but if you want a different kind of crime fiction, this series is a definite place to visit.
I was lucky enough to receive a copy of this book for review purposes from the publishers Hodder & Stoughton ahead of UK publication on 22 September 2016. This is my unbiased opinion of the book.
The Dublin Murder Squad books:
In The Woods
The Likeness
Faithful Place
First Published UK: 22 September 2016
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
No of Pages: 480
Genre: Crime Fiction Series
Amazon UK
Amazon US
Can’t wait to continue with this series 🤗
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It is a good one that’s for sure 🙂
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Looks like I’m following you clockwise as I have this to read very soon as well. I’ve loved all her books but have to say I really really didn’t like The Secret Place so am a bit apprehensive about this new one.
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Bookwise not clockwise!!! 😂😂
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Haha you can follow me clockwise too if you like! I loved The Secret Place but I could see why other’s may not, this is also a book that immerses you into quite a small world, but this time with grown-ups! I do hope you enjoy it – I was completely gripped
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Fingers crossed! I read The Ice Beneath her last night in one sitting as I was totally gripped so hope this one does the same!
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I hear such good things about Tana French & so I bought In the Woods but I’ve not got round to it yet – you’ve encouraged me to get going!
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Oh you really should – this is one of the best series around and each book is so different from the others!
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Looking forward to this one Cleo, glad to hear you enjoyed it!
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I have really enjoyed the entire series and I like that each book is so different – one very talented lady!
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I have this lined up, and so it’s lovely to read such a positive response to this book.Particularly as I know that your expectations would have been as high as mine!
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Thank you Jane – she is a ‘must-read’ author for me and I was itching to get to it, not disappointed in the slightest 🙂
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So glad you enjoyed this novel so well, Cleo. And I think you’ve hit on something French does so well: the slow unveiling of characters. She has a real way of drawing the reader into her characters’ worlds, too.
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Thank you Margot – I do like a slow reveal and the immersion in another world is very satisfying indeed.
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I love Tana French’s books. Love them. Favorite so far by a very small margin is Faithful Place, but that’s probably because I like Frank. I love her way of bringing characters forward from previous books and dumping them into the mainstream. Makes her books a series, but not exactly a series. And I spend the books guessing who might be next. Looking forward to this one.
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I’m sure you will enjoy it – If pushed I would say The Secret Place but that’s as much because I was so drawn into the alien world of a girl’s boarding school that I knew that this author had something special. This time, I was in the Murder Squad doing the hard graft 😉
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I can’t wait to read this one!
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It’s very good – I hope you enjoy it as much as I did 🙂
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Great review! I CANNOT WAIT to get my hands on a copy of this book. I’m a huge fan of the series, and this one sounds excellent:-)
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Excellent news Malia – not long to wait now!
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Ok, I’m really going to have to get around to reading one of her books sometime…
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You really should, I do think you’ll enjoy her writing!
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Oh I love this series so much! Fantastic review, I’m even more excited to read it now.
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Thank you – I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
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Ooh I love Tana French – somehow missed that she had a new book out! great review 🙂
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It’s been a while since the last one – glad to serve up some good news 🙂
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I’m really excited about this one, Cleo. Good to hear that Tana French pulled it off AGAIN.
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The woman is a genius!
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I have the first book, and hope to get to it soon. Thanks for sharing, and enjoy!
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You really should read the first one – and then the next five haha!
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Cleo, my comments seem to disappear on your blog and other WP sites….yesterday and today, and only in WP blogs. Did the spam filter hide them in the folder? Could you please check, or have I become so annoying that I’m locked out? lol
On Sun, Sep 11, 2016 at 10:02 PM, Cleopatra Loves Books wrote:
> cleopatralovesbooks posted: ” Oh my!! I really don’t know how this author > does it but once again Tana French has come up with yet another book with > an authentic feel, that bears no resemblance to those that came before it. > The Dublin Murder Squad, of which this is the sixth, is no” >
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I really like her books, so I’m excited to read this one once it’s released!
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It is very good – I do hope you enjoy it Loreen.
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I love it when an author manages to immerse their reader completely into their characters’ world with their writing. There is no better escape from our daily life!
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No, although I think my life is considerably better than tracking a murderer! 😊
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I hope to enjoy this series soon…I have the first book on Pippa. Thanks for sharing.
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I really need to read these. This one sounds especially good. I’m glad that despite the book being long, it worked and made you excited to learn more and discover the characters.
-Lauren
http://www.shootingstarsmag.blogspot.com
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Yes sometimes a book is long because it needs to be, not because an author is clocking up word count – this series is one of my absolute favourites.
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Not an author I have ever read though always mean too. I love how this one sounds…and want to know how smells are described so well.
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I can’t recommend this series highly enough – I like picking up a book and really not knowing what to expect, except great writing. She does have a real knack of setting the scene – the smells weren’t so inviting 😉
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I will definitely look out for them with a peg ready for my nose.
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haha 🙂
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Woo hoo! I loved this too Cleopatra. I suspect that like me as soon as you got it you had locked the door, taken the phone off the hook and put in earplugs to drown out distracting cries for your attention from the outside world. AND I bet you wrote your review weeks ago, and have been champing at the bit to launch it into the world to persuade them they must pre-order this. I am envious now of those about to start reading it.
Poor us, we have the long wait now for book 7…………………………………
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I’ve just had a chance to read your review – yes I’m afraid I did – Haha would you believe I took a day’s holiday and was totally anti-social and hid myself away and read, and read, until it was over? I actually held off reading until relatively recently as what with the wedding and the guests it’s been busy here and I didn’t want to start until we had some peace so that I could enjoy it – but I could wait no longer! I know perhaps she’ll learn to write a bit faster?
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I’ve just read this one too, and will be blogging on it soon – and totally agree, what a winner! An absolute page-turner, unputdownable.
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I started this, but had to put it by due to blog tour commitments. So I’m going to wait til I’ve got a free weekend to treat myself to wallowing in Tana French’s genius. She really is something special, isn’t she?
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She is amazing and a firm favourite of mine!
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Ditto!
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